Incendiary grenade

ABSTRACT

An incendiary grenade having a canister provided with scored sides, a burster-igniter assembly positioned at the center of the canister and a gelled fuel substantially filling the canister. The burster-igniter assembly comprises a fuse fitted into a burster well or cylinder which is scored to provide a good ignition burst. The grenade expels material which is hot enough to dry and set fire to rain soaked thatched roofs, etc.

United States Patent 9 [19] Stevens 3,731,632 1 May 8,1973

[54] INCENDIARY GRENADE I [75] Inventor: John H. Stevens, San Diego, Calif.

[73] Assignee: The United States of America as represented by the Secretary of the Navy, Washington, DC.

[22] Filed: July 30, 1970 [21] Appl. No.: 64,917

52 US. Cl ..102/65, 102/90 [51] ..F42b 27/04 [58] Field of Search ..l02/6, 64-66, 102/90 [56] References Cited UNITED STATES PATENTS 2,383,720 8/1945 Hamilton ,.......102 6 2,445,311 7/1948 Cooke et a]. ..102/6 X 2,501,766 3/1950 Fieser et al ..102/65 3,433,437 3/1969 Bates 102/6 Primary Examiner-Verlin R. Pendegrass Attorney-R. S. Sciascia and Philip Schneider [57] ABSTRACT An incendiary grenade having a canister provided with scored sides, a burster-igniter assembly positioned at the center of the canister and a gelled fuel substantially filling the canister. The burster-igniter assembly comprises a fuse fitted into a burster well or cylinder which is scored to provide a good ignition burst. The grenade expels material which is hot enough to dry and-'set tire to rain soaked thatched roofs, etc.

5 Claims, 2 Drawing Figures PATENTEDHAY 81915 I Ina FIG. 2

INVENTOR. JOHN H. srsvavs inim 0. may).

ATTORNEY INCENDIARY GRENADE STATEMENT OF GOVERNMENT INTEREST The invention described herein may be manufactured and used by or for the Government of the United States of America for governmental purposes without the payment of any royalities thereon or therefor.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION of disseminating an incendiary material into a predeter-' mined area.

Weather conditions in SOUTHEAST ASIA have established the requirement for an incendiary device which will be effective against rain soaked thatched and wooden structures, as well as an anti-personnel incendiary device for use in tunnels and bunkers. Prior art devices have proven ineffective for these purposes.

Thermite grenades are the most common prior art devices whose use has proven ineffective. The greatest disadvantage with thermite grenades is the intense localized heat produced. When the unit is thrown on a structure, the heat is so localized that a hole is quickly burned around the grenade and it falls through the structure without setting fire to it.

A second disadvantage with thermite grenades, is their weight. A soldier carrying a great deal of weight in equipment and ammunition is quite adverse to carrying the extra weight of a thermite grenade especially when they have proven so ineffective.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION The present invention is directed at providing an efficient light weight incendiary grenade. The grenade consists of a tin canister whose sides are scored to ensure a uniform burst. The canister is filledwith a incendiary material comprising a mixture of gelled and liquid gasoline. A burster-ignitor assembly is inserted into the canister to ignite and disseminate the incendiary material. That portion of the burster-ignitor assembly which extends into the canister is also scored in a noncrossing helical pattern to provide a good ignition burst as well as to cut down on shrapnel.

In use, the incendiary grenade disseminates the incendiary material over a four foot diameter area and produces a fireball 8 to feet in diameter. This spread eliminates the intense localized heat shortcoming of the thermite grenade, and burns hot enough to dry and set fire to rain soaked material. The fire ball produces a fair amount of heat and uses sufficient oxygen to be used as an anti-personnel weapon. The loaded unit is light weight, reliable, and reasonably safe to carry. It is simply constructed and is easy to load and operate by anyone who is at all familiar with grenades. The unit may be fired by existing grenade firing adapters. Further, the cost of the incendiary grenade is well below that of the existing thermite grenade.

OBJECTS OF THE INVENTION An object of the present invention is the provision of an efficient incendiary device which is capable of expelling an incendiary material into a predetermined area. Another object is to provide an efficient incendiary device which is light in weight.

A further object of the invention is the provision of a device which is simple and easy to load and operate.

Still another object is to provide an incendiary device which is reasonably safe and inexpensive.

Other objects, advantages and novel features of the invention will become apparent from the following detailed description of the invention when considered in conjunction with the accompanying drawings.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWING The exact nature of this invention as well as other objects and the advantages thereof will be readily apparent from consideration of the following specification relating to the annexed drawings in which:

FIG. 1 is a partial cutaway of a preferred embodiment of the invention;

FIG. 2 is a partial cutaway of components contained within the preferred embodiment of FIG. 1.

FIG. 1, which illustrates a preferred embodiment of the present invention, shows a tin canister 11 having scored sides as shown at 12. For the purposes of explanation, it will be assumed that the internal chamber 13 of the tin canister 11 has a volume of 10 ounces. It is contemplated, that other sizes may be utilized depend- I ing upon the requirements of the intended use.

Mounted atop the canister 11 and extending into the internal chamber 13 is burster-ignitor assembly 15. The burster-ignitor assembly 15 is primarily composed of an ignitor fuse l6-and a burster well 17. Attached to and cooperating with the burster-ignitor assembly 15 is a safety ring 19 and a safety lever 20 whose operation is more specifically set forth below.

Referring now to FIG. 2, there is shown a cutaway of the burster well 17. The upper portion of the burster well 17 is adapted to accept an extending portion 22 of the ignitor fuse 16. The ignitor fuse 16 is of an existing design, the specific details of which are not a part of the present invention. Any suitable device may be substituted for the ignitor fuse shown without departing from the scope of the invention. I

The lower portion of the burster well 17 is scored in a non-crossing helical pattern, as indicated at reference numerial 18, in a manner similar to that of the tin canister 11. This scoring acts to provide a good ignition burst as well as to cut down on shrapnel.

A burster charge is contained within the internal chamber 23 of burster well 17. The burster charge may be comprised of any suitable material. It has been found, that a mixture of nine grains of Hercules Unique smokeless powder (nitrocellulose and nitroglycerin mix) and ten grains of R-2 pellets (boron, potassium nitrate) is very effective in this application. Within this combination, the specified amounts are critical to the operation.

With the burster charge contained within the internal chamber 23 of burster well 17, the ignitor fuse 16 is fitted to the burster well 17 to make up the burster ignitor assembly 15. The canister is then filled with the incendiary material. Typical of such materials would be approximately 8 ounces of gelled gasoline with an additional 2 ounces of liquid gasoline. The canister is then fitted with the burster ignitor assembly 15 which acts to ignite and disseminate the incendiary material.

Provision is made on the burster ignitor assembly 15 for maintaining a water proof seal against moisture. An

example of such a seal would be the use of a gasket of g rubber or other resilient material in the recess shown at 24.

When the incendiary grenade is to be used, the operator holds the grenade firmly in his hand with the safety lever under his fingers. He then pulls the safety ring 19 and throws the grenade at his target. The action of the ignitor fuse 16 on the burster charge within the internal chamber 23 causes the scored sides 18 of the burster well 17 to rupture. This, both ignites the incendiary material within the internal chamber 13 of the canister l l, and causes the scored sides 12 of the canister 11 to rupture thus expelling the ignited incendiary material. The incendiary material is disseminated over approximately a four foot diameter and produces a fire ball 8 to 1G feet in diameter.

Obviously ma'ny modifications and variations of the present invention are possible in the light of the above teachings. It is therefore to be understood that, within the scope of the appended claims, the invention may be practiced otherwise than as specifically described.

What is claimed is:

1. An incendiary device comprising:

a canister;

an incendiary material within said canister;

means extending into said canister for igniting said incendiary material wherein the igniting means comprises a burster well having scored sidewalls wherein the scoring of the sidewalls does not cross but entirely encircles the sidewalls at least once, thereby ensuring a good ignition burst and to reduce shrapnel.

2. The incendiary device of claim 1 wherein the scoring of the sidewalls is substantially of a helical configuration.

3. The incendiary device of claim 2 wherein the canister has scored sidewalls.

4. The incendiary device of claim 3 wherein the scoring on the canister does not cross.

5. The incendiary device of claim 4 wherein the scoring on the canister is substantially of a helical configuration. 

1. An incendiary device comprising: a canister; an incendiary material within said canister; means extending into said canister for igniting said incendiary material wherein the igniting means comprises a burster well having scored sidewalls wherein the scoring of the sidewalls does not cross but entirely encircles the sidewalls at least once, thereby ensuring a good ignition burst and to reduce shrapnel.
 2. The incendiary device of claim 1 wherein the scoring of the sidewalls is substantially of a helical configuration.
 3. The incendiary device of claim 2 wherein the canister has scored sidewalls.
 4. The incendiary device of claim 3 wherein the scoring on the canister does not cross.
 5. The incendiary device of claim 4 wherein the scoring on the canister is substantially of a helical configuration. 